Product Details

• Actors: Michael Saucedo, Justin Urich, Travis Sher, Milo Ventimiglia, Vincent D'Onofrio
• Directors: Nickolas Perry, Peggy Rajski, Tom DeCerchio
• Format: Color, DVD, NTSC
• Language: English (Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono)
• Region: All Regions
• Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
• Number of discs: 1
• Rating: NR (Not Rated)
• Studio: Image Entertainment
• DVD Release Date: September 21, 1999
• Run Time: 79 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 3.1 out of 5 stars See all reviews (19 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B00000JWWE
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #118,113 in Movies & TV (See Bestsellers in Movies & TV)
• For more information about "Boys Life 2" visit the Internet Movie Database (IMDb)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com
After the comparative success of Boys Life, four more budding filmmakers were invited to share their talents in a quartet of unorthodox--and very different--20-minute stories about being a gay male in the four corners of America. Boys Life 2 isn't as affecting as the original, maybe because the stories are less personal, have less time to develop character and narrative, and focus more on surface effect--they're rather like going cruising instead of looking for true love. In fact, only one of the shorts--"Alkali, Iowa," by Mark Christopher (who later directed 54)--has real resonance and depth. The rest are tainted by stereotypes and buffed-up eye candy ("Must Be the Music" by Nickolas Perry); oddball black humor ("Nunzio's Second Cousin" by Tom DeCerchio, which stars Vincent D'Onofrio doing that ranting and raving thing he does so well); and enigmatic wisp ("The Dadshuttle" by Tom Donaghy). Boys Life dealt with freshman themes--first crush, first love, and first realization of one's sexual identity--while Boys Life 2 is a second glance, older and a little bit wiser, and more jaded. Like many second efforts it suffers from that thing called "sophomore curse" and doesn't live up to the early promise and the more soulful impact of its predecessor. --Paula Nechak

Product Description
Another anthology with four powerful films from gay filmmakers. In "Must Be the Music" (1997, 20 min.), four teenage friends out on the town in L.A. explore basic emotions in this vibrantly honest portrayal of urban gay youth. "Nunzio's Second Cousin" (1997, featuring Eileen Brennan & Vincent D'Onofrio) finds a young, gay Chicago police detective exacting his own brand of darkly comic justice from a gay-bashing attacker. "Alkali, Iowa" (1995, 17 min., featuring Mary Beth Hurt) follows a young farmer who discovers his father's long-hidden secret, which gives him the strength to confront his own sexuality. "The Dadshuttle" is a vivid and poignant short film about a father and son who thought they couldn't be more different, until the son delivers news that will forever alter the course of their lives.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A Varied Quartet, with One Subtle Sleeper, January 5, 2000

By	Brian Kevin Beck "infovoyeur" (Whitewater, WI USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Boys Life 2 [VHS] (VHS Tape)

In 3 of these 4 shorts, homophobia lurks. All 4 are artistic, from minimal-realistic to episodic. MUST BE THE MUSIC: It's only four young teen guys going clubbing one night, scrappy and bopping. Business as usual with young males, but these prowlers are all gay--showing we're "different and the same." SECOND COUSIN: the tables turned, a New York cop makes a gay-basher come home for dinner at mother's. The subtlety? Residual internalized homophobia. ALKALI, IA: The film's jolty uneven flashback style well suits its subject, a farm boy discovering his father was gay, and his family is still anti-gay. But the best is THE DADSHUTTLE. Apparently only the conversation between guy and dad in a car drive, actually it's artistic genius, re-creating (not just reporting) son's attempt to communicate, father's non-intended awkwardness. Bravo.

15 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Good Collection, but TREVOR is sorely missed., December 2, 1999

By	Steve Woods (San Francisco, CA) - See all my reviews

Sure TREVOR has its own video release, but I really prefer viewing it with MUST BE THE MUSIC, ALKALI (from the director of 54) and NUNZIO'S SECOND COUSIN. As seen in theaters, TREVOR rounded out the multi-generational aspect of the program. Seen that way, we were shown the experiences of various characters from pre-teen to middle aged. I don't want to knock THE DADSHUTTLE (included in this DVD release in place of TREVOR) for it is a well performed piece and worthy of a look. I must thank IMAGE ENTERTAINMENT for releasing this DVD in the first place! MUSIC and NUNZIO'S are both presented letterboxed in their original cinema format. ALKALI, filmed in 16mm is presented full frame. As usual, Image's quality is great and the picture and sound quality runs circles around the previous VHS release. The reds and flashing lights of MUSIC's club sequences don't look as fuzzy and those colors don't bleed into each other as in the VHS version. The sound is much more audible as well. ... Waiting for Boy's Life 3...

15 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars More depth than the first Boys Life, November 8, 1999

By	Chad J Lautner ([e-mail]) (Traverse City, MI) - See all my reviews

After watching both films (on DVD) I thing Boys Life 2 has more depth. (Well the first film in BL2 isn't very deep... but the last three are...) Anyhoo, Nunzio's 2nd Cousin is rich in dark humor, Alkali Iowa a gritty and honest depiction of life in rural farm country... and Dadshuttle is an interesting film... Someone earlier railed against this last film... It isn't a film that you can sit back and be bemused and entertained, but it is an incredible film showing a father who isn't listening to what his son is telling him... How the father is able to not confront the truth of his son's message is amazing....

Very good movies overall...